Here is the perfect way to beat the summer heat: stay inside with a terrifying new read, and let the psychological chills and thrills help you cool off! Our top five books for July are all guaranteed to keep you riveted:
Final Girls, by Riley Sager (July 11): Horror movie fans will recognize the term “final girl” as a reference to the one (female) character who survives the film all the way to the end. Sager puts a terrific spin on the concept: it’s less horror than psychological suspense, thanks to an unreliable heroine who can’t remember the massacre that left her friends dead…but who becomes a fierce and determined fighter when she realizes that a new killer has her in his sights.
Perfect if you love: horror classics like Friday the 13th, or modern suspense novels with cinematic twists, like Her Every Fear, by Peter Swanson.
The Breakdown, by B.A. Paris (July 18): British author Paris burst onto the thriller scene last year with Behind Closed Doors, an eerie glimpse into a seemingly picture-perfect marriage that was reminiscent of Gone Girl. Now, Paris returns with another stellar thriller that features a woman who ignores an apparent traffic accident, only to discover that is was actually a murder. As guilt sets in, so does forgetfulness – and once she doubts her memory, her mental state and her marriage begin to crumble, while the tension ramps up.
Perfect if you love: British thrillers who know how to reel you in and leaving you reeling with a twist ending. Try My Husband’s Wife, by Jane Corry, or Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson.
The Lying Game, by Ruth Ware (July 25): It’s hard to imagine a time without Ruth Ware’s ingenious suspense novels, but this is only her third since 2015’s In a Dark, Dark Wood – and it’s just as brilliant as you expect. Close-knit boarding school friends lost touch after a tragedy ended their carefree adventures, but they are about to be re-united fifteen years later: the discovery of a body could unravel the secrets and lies that bound them together as students, when their innocent Lying Game turned deadly.
Perfect if you love: a dark and compelling murder mystery. Try Black-eyed Susans, by Julia Heaberlin, or Dead Letters, by Caite Dolan-Leach.
And don’t forget: In a Dark, Dark Wood is the Brown Bag Book Club pick for July! Join us on July 20 to talk suspense.
Watch Me Disappear, by Janelle Brown (July 11): Brown’s latest is a blend of family drama and psychological thriller that centers on a missing wife and mother (so it will definitely resonate with Gone Girl fans!). She is beloved by all who know her, but her disappearance while hiking resurrects secrets about her radical past and the secret double life she might have been living. Doubting how well anyone knew the woman around whom their lives revolved, they start to question whether she is even dead…or if she simply vanished.
Perfect if you love: Mysteries surrounding missing women, like All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger, both by Megan Miranda.
The Late Show, by Michael Connelly
(July 18): What’s better than a new Michael Connelly book? How about a new Michael Connelly series? That’s right: Connelly is not only back, but he is introducing a brand new detective into his ranks. Meet Renee Ballard, a rookie with the LAPD who is determined to prove herself while assigned to the squad’s hated graveyard shift, aka the “Late Show.” Two new cases could put her on the map, but they may also put her in the crosshairs of the bad guys – and that includes her former boss.
Perfect if you love: fictional detectives who want the case solved, by any means necessary. If you already know and love Connelly’s Harry Bosch, try Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan novels.
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